Building certifiers on notice

BUILDING certifiers have been put on notice by the Queensland construction regulator, with a statewide audit under way.

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) audit will check whether building certifying functions were being done to the correct standards and all relevant approvals, forms and documents were in place.

The QBCC received 222 complaints about certifiers in 2021-2022 and finalised 217 of them.

QBCC Commissioner Anissa Levy said officers were currently undertaking audits in a number of Queensland regions to check the work of certifiers.

“Certifiers have an incredibly important role in the building and construction industry, and attention-to-detail to compliance is imperative,” she said.

“We know the vast majority of certifiers do the right thing and Queenslanders can feel confident that their homes are being built by people with the appropriate skills and qualifications.

“Licensed building certifiers assess building applications, decide whether to issue building approvals and inspect and certify building works. The certifier ensures the building works comply with the building assessment provisions, the Building Act and the approval.”

Ms Levy said an important part of the role of the QBCC was to carry out audits like this in a bid to uncover potential substandard behaviour within the building and construction industry.

“Certifiers inspect building projects during construction and after the building process to ensure that they have been built in accordance with Queensland legislation,” she said.

Audits will be undertaken in regional Queensland throughout October and November.

They will take place in Beaudesert, Toowoomba, Sunshine Coast, Rockhampton and Townsville.